Tara said, “Mr. Middleton, since Dalia isn’t going to be skating for several weeks, I assume it’s okay for her to come to the Halloween dance with me?”
Her question was followed by a tense silence. Tara had successfully put on the spot when dad answered, “Sure she can, Tara.”
I stood from the table and Tara followed suit. Mom eyed me cautiously, “You better rest that leg of yours. We were going to introduce you to Ryan later next week. I’ll have to call his mother and push it back. She’s not going to be too impressed when she finds out you’ve been injured. This is going to set your practices back by weeks!”
“You planned all of this BEFORE I was hurt didn’t you?” I accused.
“Well, obviously,” mom answered. “This took a lot of planning. The only things we haven’t decided yet, are who’s going to coach you guys and which arena you’ll train at.”
“You’ve already hit your plateau as a single skater Dalia, this is you’re only chance to make your dream of winning the Olympics come true,” dad encouraged.
“Are you sure it’s not ‘your dream?’”
I started hobbling away with Tara following closely behind. We escaped to the sanctuary of my room, throwing ourselves onto my bed. I reached for my iPod and put on Mirrors by Justin Timberlake, so my parents couldn’t hear our conversation over the smooth rhythm Justin always made. It wasn’t cool to like him, he was tres passé, so we kept him our dirty little secret.
“A pair skater?” I said dramatically.
“A pair skater,” Tara mimicked.
“I don’t think I want to be a pair skater,” I thought out loud.
“How come? Does it scare you?” she asked.
“I just never considered it before,” I reasoned.
“It’s not like you have a choice in the matter. You might as well take a shot at it, unless you choose to quit. Are you at the point of wanting to quit?”
“I was contemplating it,” I confessed.
“What’s stopping you?”
“Nothing, I don’t know. I was considering it after the fall but I attributed it to frustration.”
“Your parents could be right,” Tara said cautiously. “It will take you months just to get back to where you were before the injury. This injury is going to make you miss a years worth of competitions and you’re going to be a year older before you can even compete again.”
“If you go into pairs,” she continued, “people’s expectations for you will lessen in the first year. You will get to skate with a GUY, which means you might actually be able to lay your virginal hands on a hot blooded male.”
“Who might be gay,” I added.
“Or who might not,” she argued.
“I don’t want to think about it, let me tell you about Adam,” I said changing the subject. “When I went to the hospital, I wasn’t thinking about my future, I was taken just by being with Adam, until I found out he had a girlfriend that is. You have no idea how disappointed I was to find out he was taken. It’s the first time a seriously cute guy ever showed any interest in me.”
“It won’t be the last,” Tara Reassured. “You’re never around guys for them to have a chance to show interest in you. Now that you can’t skate, maybe you WILL meet someone, the halloween dance is just around the corner! Your parents have no excuse to keep you from going.”
“Do you think Adam will be there?”
“Everyone who is anyone will be there. It’s the first dance of the year! The big question is, will Harper be with him?”
“Who’s Harper? Sounds like an instrument.”
“No, it’s Adam’s snobby girlfriend. I’ve seen them snogging together in the hallways on more than one occasion. Just the other day, I overheard her talking to Sierra in the bathroom. She was complaining to her about how he never makes time for her anymore. He’s always too busy with his basketball practice or schoolwork. I give it two weeks and they’ll be broken up. I’ve seen the way she drools over Carter.”
“Who’s Carter?”
“He’s Adam’s best friend.”
“Is he cute?”
“I’d suck his cock cute.”
“Oh then he has to be cute,” I said sarcastically.
“Adam almost kissed me,” I reminisced. I regretted ever having asked him about whether he was seeing anyone, “I shouldn’t have asked if he had a girlfriend,” I commented bitterly.
“No, its good that you did,” argued Tara. “You don’t need your first kiss to be with a two timing asshole. It’s nice that he was honest with you. It says something for his character.”
One Day Later
Tara offered to take me to school which was a good thing, I didn’t think I should be driving if I was still seeing little green aliens after taking my pain pills.
She arrived at my house fifteen minutes before we were expected to be in homeroom. She waited for me to hobble and swing to her car and then she floored the gas pedal all the way, tailgating anything and everything in front of her. The ride was so nerve wrecking, I found myself reaching for the break pedal on my side of the car trying to break for her. Even the aliens were scared.
She dropped me off at the front of the school, preventing me from walking unnecessarily. We said we would meet back up at lunch. I was starting to feel anxious knowing I would be coming face to face with Adam again.
Mrs. Uptite wasn’t in homeroom yet, my classmates could be heard all the way down the corridor. My eyes collided with Adams before locking on. Butterfly wings tickled my insides the way they did before big competitions. Breaking our stare, I worked my way towards my desk concentrating on each step.
As I took my seat, I could feel his intense stare burning right through me. Instinctively drawn to face him, I nodded a greeting, suddenly too shy to use words. I didn’t want him to think I was ignoring him after all the help he gave me yesterday, it was quite the opposite. I found myself not wanting to stop looking at him. Reprieve from the tension occurred when Mrs. Uptite came barreling in later than usual. She caught sight of the crutches and motioned for me to stay seated during the Anthem and prayer. The aliens were sitting too.
Attendance seemed to fly by and the buzzer for first period went off. I had to remind myself that he was taken, T. A. K. E. N because I cursed that homeroom was over so quickly and we had to go our separate ways. I glanced one last time at him before turning to leave. He appeared to be looking at something on his phone. Maybe HE was trying to spend more time in here because I was here. I hobbled out of the classroom first, proud of myself for resisting any and all temptations to spend every last second with him.
Tara and Sierra were waiting for me at lunch. I took the chair opposite Tara and started eating from her tray. She rolled her eyes, “If you want me to get you food, all you have to do is ASK!”
I laughed, “Thanks, I’ll have the same as you.” She pretended to look annoyed but I wasn’t believing it.
Sierra smiled, “I wouldn’t be able to use crutches and carry a tray! Who does she think you are?” Sierra was a cheerleader at our school. She had wavy blond hair that she always wore in braids and the most innocent blue eyes I’d ever seen. She was five foot nothing so she was always the one being thrown into the air during they’re cheerleading routines.
“Exactly!” I agreed, “Who does she think I am?”
Carter, my exact definition of tall and lanky snuck up on Sierra covering her eyes. I didn’t see what Tara found attractive in him. I guess I had to get to know the guy to get it. I know she used the comment about ‘I would suck his dick’ just to explain how cute he was, but being Sierra’s friend, it was totally uncool.
Carter didn’t do anything for me with the exception of his smile. He did have a nice smile. His blond hair and green eyes barely distracted me from blemishes on his face that were the size of moon craters. He gave the word acne a whole new meaning. I could only find one good reason to suck his dick, and that would be to stop myself from having to look at his face.
She reached behind her feeling him up and said, “Carter!” He kissed her before helping himself to the chair next to her. I looked over to see where Tara was in line, and that’s when I started tripping out. ADAM was walking towards us carrying his tray of food. He helped himself to a seat directly across from me, nodding shyly once in my direction before addressing his best friend who was sitting next to him, “Carter.”
Tara was heading back to our table, and I caught the wink she sent me from across the cafeteria. She laid the tray in front of me and then rejoined us. I sat quietly and listened to the play-by-play details of Carter and Adam’s last basketball game against Bishop Strachan High School. I caught myself wanting to look at Adam, but I stopped myself on more than one occasion.
Whenever I did weaken and sneak a peek, I caught him always looking back at me. One time I found him staring passed me and I sensed someone standing behind me. My eyes shifted to Tara who looked at me and said, “Hi Harper.”
I turned around to see this beautiful girl standing behind me. Her auburn hair was smooth and silky, catching the light at almost every angle, a shoe in for hair commercials. Her eyes, weren’t as perfect because right now they were black with anger. She was holding her books to her chest and tapping her foot impatiently on the ground, “Adam, outside now!” she ordered turning around and storming away.
Carter looked at Adam, “When are you going to stop taking shit from her? ‘Adam, outside now,’” he mimicked.
Adam didn’t budge. His eyes searched mine like he was looking for an answer, “You better go,” I encouraged. He collected his books angrily and left to go after her.
One Month Later
Mom insisted on coming with me to my M.R.I. appointment. I went to the office to pick up my pass and waited for her at the front door. I was staring at the cars parked in the parking lot, when someone accidentally brushed passed me.
It was Adam.
I stopped breathing for a second when I saw him, “I’mmm ss sorry,” I stuttered out an apology. Unable to recover from sounding like a complete imbecile I shifted my gaze back out the door praying for mom to come sooner rather than later.
“No problem,” he replied cooly. “Are you going to the M.R.I. today?”
Like Oh.My.God! He remembered. I am definitely in love! Maybe he’s in love with me? We’re in love! Okay so I’m jumping the gun, but there’s nothing wrong with dreaming or at least hoping. I wouldn’t be the kind of skater I am today if I didn’t have dreams and hopes, although I’m injured right now. I have to act cool, way more cool than I feel. I have no time to talk myself down, he’s waiting for an answer. Harper. Harper. Harper.
“No, I did that already. Mom is taking me to the doctor to find out my results.” I said calmly.
“Good luck,” he said in a low sexy voice that made my whole body quiver. I didn’t see the aliens anymore because I wasn’t taking the pills for pain, but if I did, they would be doing a happy dance for me.
“Thanks, there’s my ride,” I said cooly. I took an extra second to balance on the crutches ensuring not to further embarrass myself in front of Adam. I had become quite the professional using them.
He rushed to hold the door open for me when we simultaneously noticed Harper coming up the school stairs. She scowled at Adam before croaking under her breath for both of us to hear, “Do you like her?” Only thing is it wasn’t a question, it was more of a statement. She walked into the school as if she hadn’t made the comment and left this sense of discord between Adam and myself.
Speechless, I apologized, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset her.”
He looked at me and all I could focus on where those pillow like lips reassuring me, “You have nothing to be sorry about.” He walked next to me all the way to my mother’s car and opened the front door for me. I sat down and then placed the crutches into the back seat. Unable and unwilling to look into his eyes. “Thanks,” I said before he stepped away from the car so I could close my door. I could feel him watching us as we drove off.
Mom turned the radio down, “Is that the boy that brought you to the hospital?”
“Ya, his name is Adam.”
“He’s cute,” she commented. “I can tell you like him, and that’s NOT going to happen. You’re not allowed to date boys when you’re committed to your figure skating. I’ve seen it too many times, girls start skipping skating sessions, then they pick up bad habits like smoking. Do you remember that amazing little jumper, Tanya?”
“Ya, Whatever happened to her?”
“She had to quit because some boy got her pregnant. The girls who date never finish competing. They either quit, or injure themselves. I don’t want you to be like them.”
“I won’t be,” I promised.
My phone chirped while we were in the waiting room. I pulled it out thinking it was Tara, glancing at the secretary, “Is it okay to have this on?”
She smiled back at me, “It’s no problem dear, thanks for asking.”
Mom scowled at me, “I’m not on mine right now!”
“Nobody just texted you,” I snapped.
Adam: I just wanted 2 wish U good luck again.
Oh.My.God! He’s texting me. I texted Tara:
Dalia: ADAM JUST TEXTED ME!
Tara: Fuck Off! What did he say?
Dalia: He wished me luck @ the doctor’s office.
Tara: What did U write back?
Dalia: I didn’t.
Tara: Why not? Write him back!
Dalia: Ok.
I flipped over to him:
Dalia: Thanks.
Adam: Can I C U after U’r appointment?
Dalia: Sure!
Adam: Text when U’r done.
Dalia: Ok.
Then I went back to Tara:
Dalia: He wants 2 C me after my appointment!
Tara: Fuck Off!
Dalia: Vulgar!
Tara: & jealous!
Dalia: Don’t be jealous, Harper.. I have 2 go in now, TTYL.
Dr. Rankin was our family doctor who had to be in his late fifties early sixties. He had buzzed grey hair and a stocky build, but gave a whole new meaning to the word compassion.
Once we were in his office, the appointment took just over twenty minutes from start to finish. He diagnosed me with a torn hamstring muscle and said that judging by the story, I must have injured it on the take-off of the jump, the action of throwing my leg forward into the air.